A year can be a long time in international politics.

This time last year, Indian leader Narendra Modi was visibly on the backfoot. His economy had turned sluggish, there was widespread disgruntlement over his move to abruptly cancel high denomination currency as an anti-corruption measure, the introduction of a nationwide goods and services tax had proved deeply vexing for businesses because of its complex structure, and ties with China were under strain after a 2017 military stand-off at Doklam, a trijunction of India, China and Bhutan.